Dear Consumer,

I have something important to tell you as a contractor, what I have to tell you has to do with money. Read on, because what I have to say may mean more to you financially than anything you've ever read

You see, I've been working inside the insurance industry for years. I've studied in detail how it works -- all the way from policy to claims.

And I've made a moral decision: to reveal the inside secrets of how you can leverage the vast resources of this multi-billion dollar industry for your financial well-being.

And since contractors are my specialty, your industry is where I decided to focus.

But first let me ask you a personal question:

Question: You know your business is probably your greatest asset. But did you know your business can be a deadly liability, too? Did you know that it can cost you more money than you have right now? (Not to mention the grief?)

Unless you...

May be this story will quickly explain what I mean. Please read on.

Brad was pulling up to the job site in his pickup. Sure, it seemed like a regular day.
He was already running late. The coffee tasted like it was made last week. He reminded himself it's time to get the pick-up into the shop.

"Isn't it amazing how banged up a truck can get in this business," he said to himself. "Oh well. That's life.?"
Yeah, this business has it's hassles, but jeez it's a helluva lot better than what his brother, Bob, does.
Sitting behind a desk all day. Brad wouldn't last a day in that kind of work. Freedom means way too much to him.

Besides, he likes to build stuff. That's always turned him on.

And, you know, the money's not all that bad. At least it looks like it's getting better.

He'd done a lot of work on his own house, so it had some equity. And it is a pretty decent place to live.
And it looked like he was going to be able to get Linda a new Camry. They had a 16 footer they took out on the water every week or two. And it seemed like they were really going to be able to take a decent vacation with the kids in the summer.

He got out of his pick-up. Stepped over someone's litter and cigarette butts. "I wish these guys would throw their crap somewhere else", he thought.

He walked on the 2 X 4's over the mud to the job site.

Then he saw one of his subs, Dave and the look on his face told there was trouble.

"I've been looking for you", Dave said. "I'm afraid you're not gonna like what you see."

Dave took Brad inside. He knew to give him some space.

Brad's heart sank.

"What the hell! What happened here?"

"Well, it looks like they pried open this window in the living room. There's a bunch of empty beer cans upstairs. I mean a bunch. They must've had some damn wild party here last night.

"Listen, Brad. I may as well tell you now. They completely screwed up the frame on that window. Broke the glass on three others. The master tub is scratched to hell. And there's finished dry wall in two rooms that's banged and dented. Maybe it can be repaired. I don't know."

Brad's mind was working like a cash register. Adding up all the damage. Adding up all the time it would take to get his subs back to finish the work they already did once.

And adding up all the lost time. He really was counting on the sale of this house for cash flow.

"Wait", Dave said. It gets worse. They took the microwave. You know, it hadn't been installed yet. And the water heater was tipped over. It was still in the box. Maybe it's okay.?

Dave was a good friend and a reliable electrician. He could see the pain and anguish all over Brad's face.

How could this happen? Just when things were really starting to look up.

He let out a long sigh.

Why? Why me? Why now?

Now he was really worried!

What's insured? What's not? Is he just covered for material? Labor? What about all the lost time?

"What's my deductible? What's my limit? Am I responsible for all this stuff? What about my subs? What if they're not covered?"

His mind was racing.

Sure, he'd call his insurance agent. He hoped he was covered.

He wasn't exactly sure where his policy was.

He hated paperwork.

He bought his insurance from his wife's cousin, Jim. Maybe that was a mistake, he thought. Jim's a nice guy, but contractors aren't really his thing. He said so himself. It's not like it's his specialty.

What am I going to tell Linda? This stuff just scares her. She'll go really quite and act like everything's okay.

Then she'll try to get me to calm down. But I know this stuff just makes her miserable inside?

It took a few missed phone calls, but finally Brad caught up with his agent, Jim.

He told him the whole story.

The next day, Jim came down to the site and walked through it with Brad.

At the end of their tour, Brad looked at Jim expectantly. Well??, he said.

Brad could tell by the look on Jim's face there was something wrong.
Jim's eyes darted around the room. "Well, Brad, I'm afraid we might have some problems."

Brad was crushed.

You probably would feel pretty panicky, too.

You see, your business is more than just a business.

In a lot of ways it's your life.

It's what gives you security -- and freedom.

It's your kids' birthday, their braces, your family vacation. It's your house, your yard, your future.

It's the diamond you want to give your wife for your 10th anniversary. Or your 20th. Or 30th.

Like I said, it's your security and your freedom.

Some day, it's your retirement.

And then something goes and screws it up.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

You can have the dreams you cherish. You can count on the security you desire.

You don't have to worry everyday about something happening that's going to set you back.

We both know it's not just vandalism.

Heck, a lot goes wrong around a worksite just because that's the way it is. It is the nature of business.

Like someone drops an air conditioner before it's installed. Who's responsible? Are you covered?
Like the plumber was installing the toilet and accidentally pushes it through to the first floor. Who's responsible? Are you covered?

Like the drywall was installed before the duct work was connected. Now it all has to be taken down. Who's responsible? Are you covered?

Listen, I've been working with contractors for a long time.

I've heard every horror story in the book.

If they were my clients, more often than not, we took care of their problem. Quickly and easily.

But sometimes they became my clients after they had a really serious claim -- and wished they had me before the claim.

But Listen, you won't have it if you pretend you don't own a business with risks. Face up to those risks and you're half way there.

And I want to help take you the other half of the way there.

I'm willing -- in fact, I'm excited about -- revealing to you some inside secrets about the insurance industry.

You see, I've worked inside the industry for a long time. I'm a licensed member of the "club".

I've figured out how it works. And I know things that would make a layperson's head spin.

Just because I've been around it so long.

And I've got good news. The resources of the insurance industry are vast.

And I can show you how to put them to work for you.

That's a really fair question. And I want to answer it honestly and truthfully.

Because it's good for you -- and it's good for my business. Period.

You see, I'm willing to give away a lot of my knowledge to contractors. Knowledge that's taken me years to accumulate, organize and perfect.

And I have found -- time and time again -- that generosity and willingness to provide really great service comes back to me. Tenfold.

In fact, that's how I have built my business.

Right now, let's talk about three of the most important things you can do to protect your financial well being and the future of your business.

1. Have an insurance specialist conduct a risk analysis on your business.

You live in the real world. A contractor's life has more risk than most people would dream of.

And they're not all the same! Different contractors run different risks.

You could be laying your business wide open for financial disaster -- unless you've had someone help you analyze your risks.

And put together a comprehensive insurance plan to protect you.

Bankruptcy? Cash flow nightmares? Losses instead of profits?

I've seen it way too often. And it didn't have to be that way!

2.Use an independent insurance broker.

I'll be blunt about this. I know how this industry works. Like I said, there's a lot of money in the insurance industry, and you want to make sure it works for you.

So you don't want an insurance company employee for your agent.

You want someone who's going to work for you!

Not someone whose paycheck is tied to one company.

But someone who can shop the market, compare price and get the most comprehensive coverage for you -- maybe even use multiple companies for your total coverage.

You want a good price? And you want protection when disaster strikes?

Use an independent broker.

3.Don't trust the financial protection of your business to an insurance broker who is not a specialist with contractor's

Listen, insurance is a huge industry. There's insurance for everything.

Anything you can have, do, own, manage or whatever - there's insurance for it.

And nobody can specialize in all of it.

In fact, professional independent broker can only specialize in a few niches -- and really understand them.

Insurance is a very technical business. Policies, coverages, endorsements, exclusions.

It has a language all its own. And the insurance needs of each industry are highly specific.

If someone specializes in insuring homes or autos or retail stores downtown, that doesn't mean they know anything about contractors!

And just because your wife's cousin sells insurance, doesn't mean he's the guy to trust the financial health of your business to!

And this is what you're not looking for:

An agent or an agency that just tries to sell you their services on meaningless platitudes, like "quality" or "excellence". They're just buzz words that don't mean anything anymore.

An agency that tries to sell you on their services just because they've "been around since 1934" or some such nonsense. Yes you want a professional that has studied the business, but what do you care what they were doing in 1934. Believe me, insurance back then wasn't anything like it is today!

An agent that doesn' know contractors. I know I've said it before, and I'll say it again. You wouldn't let a foot doctor perform surgery on your heart, would you? I didn't think so. So don't trust your financial well being to just any insurance agent!

A few weeks later...

Brad had just met with a new insurance professional. He was beaming.

He practically fell off his chair! This broker really told him the "inside secrets" of the insurance industry.

"I normally really do hate paperwork. But I am a businessman -- and I do practically have my life invested in this business." I know more about protecting my business and future for myself and my family than I ever thought was possible. Frankly, I'm just a lot more confident seeing things turn out the way I want them to."